


Fires burning low

by tsundanire



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abraxans, Aethonans, Cabins, Care of Magical Creatures, Fluff, Getting Together, Granians, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, M/M, Mares and foals, soft, thesis projects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-18 02:47:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21770524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsundanire/pseuds/tsundanire
Summary: A moment by firelight. With parchment sketches, tea, and a kissing interlude.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 64
Collections: Harry/Draco Owlpost 2019





	Fires burning low

**Author's Note:**

  * For [orpheous87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpheous87/gifts).



> Thanks to my betas for giving this a look over. To Orpheous87, your prompts gave me an idea for something far grander, and I promise that if I write the whole thing, I'll gift that to you as well. Happy holidays my friend.

The fire in the hearth burned low. It was nothing but embers by the time Harry realised he’d been staring into it for at least an hour. 

Draco was sitting at the kitchen table, the steady sound of quill scratching on paper—as he sketched the day’s events with the herd—mixed with the crackle of the fireplace. Harry felt warm, and soft, bundled in a blanket he couldn’t recall grabbing. Stirring, he made his way over to the sink, filling the kettle and set it on the stove. 

They’d spent so long in each other’s company now, Harry knew what Draco would want without even having to ask. He set about getting the cups ready, and a plate of biscuits, all the while waiting for the water to finish. 

If he’d realized months ago, that coming back to Hogwarts, working on this thesis project with Draco, and helping to raise the herd of Abraxan, Aethonan, and Granian geldings, would have brought them through all their trauma together, and helped to heal their wounds... Harry would have called himself insane.

And yet, as Harry brought over the two steaming mugs and leaned over to check out Draco’s sketches, his heart nearly stopped. 

Earlier on, they had named one of the Granian geldings ‘ _Temperance_ ’ for her steadfastness, and being the foal who forced Draco and Harry to stop everything and focus on her health. When they’d first arrived she had been the smallest of all the geldings, with a wing that wouldn’t completely unfurl. It was a rather big concern for them, since their task had been to study the herd and help prepare them for the winter migration—that would allow these nursing mares and their foals to catch up with the rest of the herd. But they helped heal her wing, while trying to get all the young ones prepared for long flight. By now, Temperance was nearly as tall as Harry was, and about three times as fast. But she always slowed down to allow him the time to check her joints, and test her reflexes.

And as Harry looked down at the paper, he could see himself through Draco’s eyes. His chest clenched. The ink seemed to move of its own accord, rolling the muscles in his arms—ones he hadn’t even known he had—and dancing through his hair. Temperance had her head bowed, completely at ease with Harry while he worked. 

“It’s...beautiful.” Harry broke the silence, words coming out of him in a whoosh. 

“You think so?” Draco’s voice sounded distant. When Harry turned to look, grey eyes were unfocused, still locked on the memory of earlier that day. 

“Yeah. Very beautiful.”

Draco blinked, returning to the present. Their faces were so close, nearly nose to nose. Harry was well aware of what he’d said, and how it would come across. He still meant every word. 

“Kiss me…” Draco whispered—afraid, hesitant, likely wondering if he was reading the signals all wrong. But Harry dove in, eager to wipe away any traces of uncertainty from the man’s face, replacing it instead with love and tenderness.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Two yearlings, a herd, and cabin in the woods](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24528079) by [tsundanire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsundanire/pseuds/tsundanire)




End file.
